Cake Basics: How to Schedule Your Cake Making
Making cakes from scratch takes time. Planning the baking process is one of the first tips that I give to new bakers. This way, they don’t try to finish everything in a few hours, which can lead to disaster. In today’s Cake Basics, I will help you plan out your cake-making process according to the amount of time you have.
Cake Fundamentals: Schedule Your Cake MakingBefore I get into the different schedules, let me give you the first bit of advice: Read through your recipe at least a week prior to baking. You’ll be able to plan your time and buy the ingredients you need.
How to divide your cake-making processes.
Some of my cakes are made up of only a few elements. For example, my Classic Yellow cake with Chocolate Buttercream. This cake is made up of two components: cake layers and buttercream. This cake is perfect for those who only have a few days to bake. The Ultimate S’mores Cake has SIX elements. This is a good one to make over a week. This one will be worth your time.
The best tips for planning your cake-making. www.cakebycourtney.com
Have You Got a Week
Start with a full week of preparation! As I said above, a full week of prep time is ideal if you are making a cake with many elements.
Day 1: Read the recipe and go shopping.
Day 2.: bake the cake layers
Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and freeze. As long as you wrap the layers in plastic, they will keep for about a week. Wrap the layers a second time in a tin and store them in a ziplock bag.
Remove your cake layers from your freezer one hour before you are ready to stack and decorate your cake.
Day 3. Make one of the fillings.
It is best to store fillings in an airtight jar on the counter or the refrigerator.
Day 5: If necessary, add additional fillings.
Day 5: Make the Buttercream
Store the buttercream in an airtight container and keep it chilled.
Remove the frosting from the fridge a few minutes before decorating. Allow the frosting to come to room temperature, and then re-beat it to soften the buttercream.
Day 6 – Assemble your cake.
I usually assemble my cake a couple of hours before serving it. I then store it either in a cake box with a lid or on a stand. Most cakes can be stored at room temperature for up to three hours. Some cakes, such as my ricotta olive oil cake, can be stored in the refrigerator and served slightly chilled.
If you do not plan to serve the cake the same day that you make it, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
Day 7: Eat the cake.
When you are ready to serve the masterpiece, bring it back to room temp if you have kept it in the fridge or freezer. Please refer to the last section of this post for information on freezing and thawing cakes.
Best tips for scheduling cake-making. www.cakebycourtney.com
You have three to four days.
If you have less time but still have a few days before the event, here’s my suggestion for a baking schedule.
Day 2: Do your shopping, review the recipe and bake your cake.
Day 2. Make your fillings.
Day 4: Prepare the frosting. If you have only three days, you’ll also want to put it together.
Day 3: Assemble the cake on Day 2 a few hours prior to serving it.
When You Only Have Two Days
Here’s what I’d do if you only had two days to prepare everything:
Shop for ingredients the morning of Day 1. Plan to make the layers of cake by lunchtime. You can make the fillings in the evening or afternoon when your children are asleep.
Day 3 On the third day, when you are planning to serve the cake, you will want to make frosting and assemble it. Make the frosting the day before and leave it at room temperature (covered) for several hours. Then, re-beat the frosting for a couple of minutes just before you assemble the cake.
The One-Day Rule
If you have only one day to bake a cake, choose something simple. For me, a simple cake has only two components: cake layers and frosting.
Morning: Buy ingredients, then prepare your cake layers. Even though you will be assembling the cake in a few short hours, you can still let it cool down to room temperature before wrapping it in plastic and freezing it for one hour. If your cake layers have been chilled, you’ll find it easier to decorate them.
Make your buttercream in the afternoon while your cake layers chill. Start the assembly process a few hours before serving your cake. Give yourself an hour to stack and decorate your cake.
Evening: EAT!
How to plan your cake-making. www.cakebycourtney.com
Make Cakes in Advance
You can also make the cake and freeze it. This is a great option if you have a deadline for delivering or serving a cake soon but are not able to bake it at the last minute.
How to Freeze, Thaw, and Transport Cakes is a blog post I wrote. The full post is available, but this reader’s version contains all the information.
After you have finished frosting the cake, you can freeze it for 30-60 minutes to set the frosting on the outside.
Wrap the cake in plastic once the frosting has set.
Move your cake to the fridge (still in its wrapper) the night before you plan to serve it.
You can leave the plastic wrap on for a few hours or even a day. For the first two hours, you can keep the plastic wrap on. The plastic wrap will be removed, and the cake will be placed in an airtight container such as a cake box, cake carrier, or cake box.
If any condensation appears on your cake, gently wipe it with a piece of paper towel.
Alright! Your next cake is ready to be planned! What will it be?
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